Homecomings
by Son Akito
Summary: If a warrior is able to return home, he is not the same person he was once before. The experience of battle changes a person in such a profound way, that it changes his very existence in life. Every warrior takes their coming home in a different way. Story takes place after Namek.


**Hello all, it's Son Akito with another story. I kind of wrote this small little thing while I was on vacation. Hope you all enjoy it! **

**I do not own DBZ.**

Homecomings

_Son Akito_

If a warrior is able to return home, he is not the same person he was once before. The experience of battle changes a person in such a profound way, that it changes his very existence in life. Every warrior takes their coming home in a different way.

Gokuu is a warrior that craves battle. Not for the violence battle brings but for the chance to better know himself. Gokuu, the saiyan raised by Earth's customs, understands that his blood craves fighting-they force him to improve, to gain power, to be in the rush of the moment as he starts gaining the upper hand on a new enemy—merely training was necessary for the warrior, but it did not give him the same satisfaction that battle does.

His Earth customs and ethical self know that this is not the normal Earthling behavior that he was raised by. Every new fight, he battles himself to still remain the same person that Grandpa Gohan raised him to be. Each and every punch is one step closer for the great warrior to get rid of his Earth raisings and embrace his saiyan blood.

Gokuu has always been one to challenge himself; and each time he feels himself slipping just a little bit further, Gokuu would pull back from the fight. Not just for the enemy but for himself.

Gokuu's homecomings are bittersweet, although he loves his family; his heart is always craving the chase of battle. To prove himself that even though he is a saiyan, he is also human.

Vegeta is a warrior who has lived his whole life in battle. When deciding that Earth would become his home, and there were no longer any rulers controlling him, chains of commands telling him what to do, or no planets to purge, Vegeta became somewhat relived.

Even though he would never admit it, Vegeta was never properly trained. He was taken from Frieza before anyone had trained him, and even though Nappa and Raditz tried to train their young prince, even at his young age, the two adults were never a match for him. Vegeta learned from watching others, and in the process made up his own unique style.

After his experience with the Earthlings, and even his battle on Namek, Vegeta knew that his fighting skills were lacking. Even though he was a quick learner and a great fighter, his style lacked composure. Once he'd start losing the upper hand, his became sloppy, he no longer was able to _think_, all the rage inside of him would surface, it would make him blind to what was really going on.

Vegeta would never admit it to anyone, but he needed time to actually know himself, to master his own style and to remain composed in battle.

Bulma allowed him to stay with her, so the Prince's homecoming was one he never experienced before.

He knew he had to train—now that he was no longer in the ruthless life under Frieza's rule, he actually had the time to find the super saiyan within himself.

Piccolo is a warrior that lacked the emotional connection between being in battle and being back at home. It never really mattered to him. Even without the battles, Piccolo was always fighting. Wither that would be his split form training or his mental training, Piccolo was always doing something.

Since training Gohan, Piccolo's emotional connection to the planet changed drastically. Piccolo had a friend, and as the days passed he seemed to be forming even more friends—Gokuu, Krillin, and the rest of the gang. Even though Piccolo put up with them, he never really considered them friends, that title was strictly Gohan's.

Piccolo's homecoming was not the same as before. Going back to his old ways before Gohan seemed empty. After gaining a friend and having a part of Nail inside of him, Piccolo's outlook of life changed. He finally had a home to come back too.

Krillin is a warrior that would always remain loyal. When he was younger, the battles were more exciting, but that was when there wasn't such a huge gap between himself and Gokuu's power. Now, Krillin knew that he was practically useless out there, but he knew that he could not just sit back and let the other's fight those battles for him.

After Namek, Krillin pushed all the bad memories away. Gohan and himself had been though quite a lot, and even though most of it was horrible, he was grateful to be able to come back and have a third chance at life.

Not that Krillin ever regretted dying, he wouldn't change the course of his life in anyway, but he had a new appreciation for it. Focusing on all the bad memoires just wasted the time he was allowed to still be alive. Krillin was never one to be serious anyway.

Krillin's homecoming gave him a new outlook, a new beginning that he wasn't about to waste.

Gohan is a warrior that was lost within himself. Being taken by Raditz, training the year with Piccolo, the battle between Nappa and Vegeta, and then the trip to Namek, the child had seen things way beyond his years.

Gohan had lost his innocents, he remembered before when he would look at the world with wonder. He would dream of becoming a scholar, having his parents at his graduation, he pictured them smiling and being proud of him. He would dream of having a job, one that would make his mother proud, and live a simple life.

For the child, life just wasn't simple anymore.

Even though the young saiyan was a strong warrior, strong enough to surpass all his elders when the anger hit him. Battling to the death just wasn't him. Gohan knew he needed to be in those battles, to face those horrors to protect his friends, and he never regretted it- but at the end of the day he is still a young boy who is scared of the things he had seen.

Gohan's homecoming was supposed to bring him peace, but all it did was give him nightmares. Nightmares he did not dare tell the others, because if they knew, they would question if he really belonged with them.

He couldn't let his Krillin, Piccolo, or his father down. He had to remain strong, for them.

Every warrior has a different outlook, a different reaction of the battles that were before him. He had to option to grow, to experience life in a different way, to find one's self, to see if they are able to handle the experiences before them.

Yet, not every warrior has a homecoming.


End file.
